Cornell Leadership

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Message from the President

July 1, 2005

Fellow Cornellians,

As I assume the position of Interim President of Cornell today, I want to
say a few words to all Cornellians, both on and off our campuses. The
past few weeks have been an unsettling period. President Lehman's
resignation was an unfortunate event for many reasons, and it has
generated lingering questions in our community because it came suddenly
and without extensive explanation. As you may have read, President Lehman
and the Board of Trustees have agreed that his and the institution's best
interests will be served by foregoing more open discussion. Despite the
understandable frustration that creates, I am confident that they have
acted in the university's interests.

Cornell's Board of Trustees has asked that I serve as Interim President
until a new President is named and assumes office. During my ten years at
Cornell, eight as President and the last two as Professor of Classics and
History, I have developed strong loyalty and commitment to this great
university, as well as deep admiration for its students, faculty, staff,
alumni and Trustees. The sense of pride I felt as President of Cornell
was matched only by the fulfillment I gained from teaching its students
and pursuing scholarship with my faculty colleagues.

During the past three weeks I have spoken several times with Provost Biddy
Martin, Dean and Provost for Medical Affairs Antonio Gotto and Dean of the
Faculty Charles Walcott. I have also talked with a number of Trustees
about the coming year. In all these conversations we have agreed upon the
need to maintain and indeed to enhance Cornell's current academic
priorities during this interim period, and to build momentum for Cornell's
coming capital campaign. Cornell's faculty has created and honed the
research and educational goals the deans have brought forward to the
Provosts. By shaping the capital campaign to support these academic plans
we will insure their realization in the next few years. The case
statement for the campaign is well along the drafting process and closely
reflects the academic initiatives developed by the faculty over the past
several years.

It is also important to build upon Cornell's close and productive
relationships with its wider communities, including Ithaca, New York City
and beyond. Recent initiatives in and around Ithaca, particularly the
soon-to-be-opened downtown office building and the comprehensive
transportation study, illustrate the value of town-gown
collaboration. Cornell's new initiatives in New York City, and its
growing international presence demonstrate the significance of our
University's role in research and education. And we continue to enhance
and highlight our historic mission as the Land Grant University of New
York State, a mission that gives Cornell much of its character and identity.

I call upon all Cornellians to assist the University in the next year in
whatever ways they can. A search committee is now being formed to
identify our next President, who will lead Cornell in fulfilling its
ambitious goals. No matter who is chosen, we can be confident that
Cornell will continue to be one of the top research universities in the
world, a creative generator of new knowledge, a wise teacher of
generations of students and an institution serving the needs of the State
of New York, the nation and the world.